Everything from toys, shoes, jewelry and furniture was listed, in addition to their recall date, how many had already been recalled, as well as the reason for said action.

Astonishingly enough, the majority of the recalls included children's items!

While such a thought can be a cause of panic for many; and understandably so; this is not the purport of this article.

The intent is to simply inform parents and guardians of the risks of lead poisoning, in addition to providing an how to guide on preventing lead poisoning in their children.

Lead Poisoning - The Risks To Your Children.

According to the National Safety Council in the U.S., the problems and risks included in lead poisoning among children include:

Learning disabilities

Attention deficit disorders

Behavioral problems

Stunted growth

Impaired hearing

Kidney damage

In addition to these risks, a one-time ingestion in sufficient amounts can actually kill. An example of such fatalities was reported on at USA Today.com.

According to the report, in February 2006, when a 4-year-old Minnesota boy swallowed a lead charm that came with a pair of sneakers, he was hospitalized with a lead level of 180 ug/dL and died four days later (The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported on this same incidence in full detail at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm55d323.pdf).

The fact that a sufficient amount of ingested lead can actually prove fatal, raises the question, "How much is too much?"

Toys By Melissa And Doug and Green Toy - Safe Play For Your Little Ones

Lead-Free Dinnerware.

While it is commonly agreed upon that there is no "safe" level of lead exposure, research has suggested that even levels that fall under some government-issued toxicity levels may still cause a considerable amount of harm.

According to an August 15th, 2007 article on WebMD.com, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or CDC) does not recommend taking action unless a child's blood-lead level exceeds 10 micrograms/dl, *Dr. John Rosen M.D., Lead poisoning expert and Director of the Lead Poisoning Clinic at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, New York City; feels this level is far too high.

WebMD.com went on to quote Dr. Rosen as saying, "There are now seven peer-reviewed articles in the medical literature that indicate the major loss of IQ occurs in children at blood-lead levels of less than 7.5 micrograms/dl."

He continued, "A threshold of 10 is no longer protective of children. ... I would very strongly suggest lowering the threshold to 5, based on abundant data in the last five years."

The booklet, Lead Alert - Painting Your Home?concurs with this evaluation. It brought to light:

Even relatively low levels of lead found in the blood can adversely affect the behavior and intellectual development of young children.

The risk to children under five years of age is particularly acute, due to their still developing nervous systems. Astonishingly, young children absorb up to 50 percent of the lead that enters their bodies, in contrast to adults who absorb about 10 percent.

If a child eats a leaded-paint flake that's even the size of a thumbnail, the level of lead in his or her blood will remain significantly elevated for several weeks!

* Sources of Lead Poisoning And How To Counteract Them.

The research has shown that the major source of lead contamination is lead-based paint and water. These aren't the only sources however.

According to theCDC,other lead contaminate sources include the list below, but are not limited to:

*Wording in italics and quotation marks are directly quoted from the CDC Website.

Folk or Herbal Medicines - "Lead has been found in some traditional (folk) medicines...Lead and other heavy metals are put into certain folk medicines on purpose because these metals are thought to be useful in treating some ailments". -

How To Counteract: Avoid folk or herbal medicines that are known to contain lead (the CDC provides a short listing).

Toys - Which are contaminated by paint and plastic - "Paint: Lead may be found in the paint on toys. Plastic: The use of lead in plastics has not been banned. It softens the plastic and makes it more flexible so that it can go back to its original shape. It may also be used in plastic toys to stabilize molecules from heat. When the plastic is exposed to substances such as sunlight, air, and detergents the chemical bond between the lead and plastics breaks down and forms a dust."

How To Counteract: Regularly check with the CDC for toy recalls and remove said toy immediately. Opt for safer toys such as the Melissa and Doug, or Green Toy brand.

Interestingly though, John Benitez MD, associate professor of pediatric and environmental medicine at the University of Rochester, N.Y., told WebMD.com, "Parents need to know it is not an acute problem."

He continued, "If a kid just touches and plays with a lead painted toy, it is not a problem. But if that child sits and chews on it for weeks and months and absorbs lead -- that becomes a risk."

Many parents however, play it safe and remove the toy altogether.

Toy Jewelry-While simply wearing toy jewelry made from lead has not been known to cause any harm, placing the jewelry in the mouth or swallowing it can be fatal (Refer back to above example of the four year olds fatality).

How To Counteract: Regularly check with the CDC for toy jewelry recalls, never allow your child to place toy jewelry in their mouths, when in doubt, leave it out.

Water - "Lead still can be found in some metal water taps, interior water pipes, or pipes connecting a house to the main water pipe in the street." Especially is this so when the home is an older one. "Lead found in tap water usually comes from the corrosion of older fixtures or from the solder that connects pipes. When water sits in leaded pipes for several hours, lead can leach into the water supply."

How to Counteract: With the help of your local water authority, find and eliminate the source of the lead. While waiting for the matter to be rectified, it has been suggested to let cold water from such pipes run for 30 to 60 seconds before you drink it. Regarding hot water, it should not be used for drinking and cooking - especially in the case of preparing infant formula.

Food- Lead can contaminate food that has been prepared in lead-glazed ceramics. This is due to the fact that lead can leach out while the dishware is heated or exposed to some fruits and vegetables (i.e.tomato sauce; orange, tomato, and other fruit juices; wine; and vinegar) .

How To Counteract: Prepare, serve, and store food in cook/dishware that has been shown to be lead-free.

Lead-Based Paint - Especially found in older homes built before 1978; as a norm, lead-based paint was used before awareness of its potential harm was raised.

How To Counteract: The CDC offers some great suggestions:

Talk with your state or local health department regarding lead testing of the paint and dust in your home.

Remove children from homes that were built before 1978 during renovations - A word of caution: Avoid the urge to remove the paint yourself. The scrapping and sanding of the lead-based paint will only fill the area with lead-laden dust. When inhaled, it can cause some major problems.

Create barriers between the play/living areaand the lead contaminated sources.

Regularly wet-mop floors and window components, as well as regularly wash children's handsand toys - household dust is a major source of lead, so parents should keep children's hands washed, their toys washed, as well as window components and floors clean.

Prevent children from playing in bare soil, instead provide them with sandboxes to play in - instead of allowing children to play in bare soil (which can contain traces of lead), parents should either plant grass, or cover soil with wood chips, grass seed, or mulch. A sandbox is another great alternative, make sure it's covered when not in use.

In retrospect, a 1992 edition of In Health magazine stated, “Intact paint isn’t a danger, though peeling paint and paint dust are. . . . Check your home inside and out for peeling, looking especially around wooden door and window frames, where weather and friction tend to grind and chip painted surfaces.”

Once you've educated yourself on the risks and sources of lead poisoning, what are the symptoms of lead poisoning in children.

According to the Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia, some of the signs and symptoms of lead poisoning in children include:

Abdominal pain

Aggressiveness

Anemia

Attention problems

Constipation

Fatigue

Headaches

Irritability

Loss of developmental skills

Low appetite

Low energy

Slow growth

In the event you suspect lead poisoning in your child, contact their physician immediately. By way of a blood test it can be determined whether your child has been effected, followed immediately with the necessary treatments.

Fortunately, once the source of the exposure to lead is removed, the lead levels in the blood greatly decrease.

* Lead Poisoning - Scary, Yet Entirely Preventable.

As diligent and dutiful parents, it is our responsibility to ensure the health and safety of our children. To highlight the need for public awareness concerning this grave situation, at present, 1 in 20 preschoolers in the U.S. alone has high levels of lead in his or her blood.

Fortunately, according to a 1992 issue of Newsweek, the then U.S. Secretary of Health andHuman Services was quoted as saying, "Lead poisoning is entirely preventable."

"Enough is now known about the sources and pathways of lead exposure and about ways of preventing this exposure to begin the efforts to eradicate permanently this disease," noted the CDC.

Therefore, while lead poisoning and the risk it presents our children can be overwhelming, even down right scary, educating yourself on the risks, the sources, as well as the signs and symptoms of said disease, will equip you with the tools to prevent lead poison in our children.

With that said, get proactive by reading labels, asking questions, keeping up with recalls listed on the CDC Website, paying attention to your child's health, and listening to your instincts.

The bad news: our children may be at risk for lead poisoning. The good news: it is preventable.

*(as well as a host of credentials - Chief, Division of Environmental Sciences, The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore; Professor of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine)

More by this Author

Having had both of my children delivered via C-section, in addition to the physical pain such a surgery exacts on the body, one can’t even begin to explain the mental anguish and body issues an unsightly caesarean...

With the recent time change, colder weather and shorter daylight hours, it can be quite a challenge to find indoor activities to keep our restless children busy and entertained.
Being a mother to two very active...

Comments 18 comments

A great article, Veronica, of which you can be proud of. It certainly is an eye-opener and so it should be. Most of the people do not know about anything like that. Thank you.

BkCreative 6 years ago from Brooklyn, New York City

Great hub Veronica Allen! Lead poisoning was epidemic in children here in NYC - and the lead based paints have been made illegal. Supposedly the paints are lead free but they still have volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - we really have to be vigilant because so very much affects our children.

Then you get rid of the paint, but children's toys as you wrote are filled with it - there is no excuse for that. The recalls of such toys are almost daily.

Thanks for the list of symptoms. Sometimes I work as a sub and there are so many children with learning issues so I know what to look out for.

And I sooooo enjoyed your interview with Hub Pages Weekly. Very interesting was the homeschooling which is growing even in NYC. Will you write more about it?

daisyjae 6 years ago from Canada

Scary! Thank you for writing this informative hub.

Veronica Allen 6 years ago from Georgia Author

Hello, hello - thank you for your praise. I'm glad you found this informative. It's truly amazing though, that a lot of parents are not aware of this epidemic. It was my hope that this hub would raise a little more awareness. Thank so much for taking the time to stop by and comment.

BkCreative - you know you are my go to woman for healthy living :) so thank you so much for your support and detailed comments.

It's crazy just how much is lead contaminated, and much of it is in the products we purchase for our children. We really have to be viligant.

I'm so glad you enjoyed the interview as well, I was really nervous. I have thought about writing more about homeschooling, but there are so many great hubs on that subject already, that I haven't yet wrapped my head around addressing it from a different angle. We'll see what the future holds.

Thanks again for stopping by.

daisyjae - thank you for stopping by as well. I agree, this is scary, but we can take control of the situation and be proactive about our children's lead exposure. We just have to be vigilant, without going overboard.

Paradise7 6 years ago from Upstate New York

Terrific hub and a public service to us all. Thank you, Veronica!

Veronica Allen 6 years ago from Georgia Author

Thank you Paradise7 for stopping by, I always look forward to hearing from you. I really hope this hub helps a lot of families, careproviders, and gaurdians of children.

creativeone59 6 years ago from Gold Canyon, Arizona

Thanks for an other great hub to benefit everyone with children on how to protect them from lead poisioning, Thanks for sharing. Godspeed. creativeone59

fastfreta 6 years ago from Southern California

Veronica this was one of the most interesting and frightening hubs that I've ever read. Who knew, cooking, drinking water, playing, almost anything that you do can potentially be dangerous for you, where lead is concerned. I am going to recommend this hub for all to read. I really got any education here. Very, very good hub.

Veronica Allen 6 years ago from Georgia Author

Creativeone and fastfreta, thank you both for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment.

Creativeone - I wrote this in the mind to share this vital information with others, it's such an important subject.

Fastfreta - I'm sorry that I frightened you. It's true though, when it comes down to lead, you can find it in just about everywhere. Fortunately however, we can be proactive and educate ourselves regarding the sources, the signs and symptoms, as well as what we need to do if we suspect lead poisoning in our own children. Knowledge in this instance, is defintely power.

quicksand 6 years ago

I wear a mask when the need arises for me to solder something. I know that many don't, but I am just a little more cautious.

Thanks for the detailed report here. Cheers!

Veronica Allen 6 years ago from Georgia Author

That's a really good thing to do Quicksand. Better safe than sorry is my motto.

habee 6 years ago from Georgia

This is scary and all too relevant! My cousin found out that his house has lead paint. Man, he's gone through a lot to get rid of it!

Veronica Allen 6 years ago from Georgia Author

Wow habee, I can only imagine what he went through. It's good that he took proactive steps to get it removed - I know it was worth the effort.

Roger Bowne 6 years ago

Ernest Holzberg & Associates has a well-earned reputation for successfully representing people who were injured by someone else’s negligence, carelessness or wrongful conduct. child lead poisoning cases ny

Veronica Allen 6 years ago from Georgia Author

Thank you for stopping by Roger Bowne and for the additional information.

Veronica Allen 4 years ago from Georgia Author

Thank you so much BethJ for the comment. I think it is extremely important for the public to be aware of this often time hidden danger.

Veronica Allen 4 years ago from Georgia Author

Thank you so much BethJ for the comment. I think it is extremely important for the public to be aware of this often time hidden danger.

Veronica Allen 4 years ago from Georgia Author

Thank you so much BethJ for the comment. I think it is extremely important for the public to be aware of this often time hidden danger.